Two cheers — and two cheers only — for the National Journal's Ron Fournier.
On Fox News's Special Report with Bret Baier last night, the former Associated Press Washington Bureau chief observed that the Jonathan Gruber videos about how the Affordable Care Act was dishonestly written and promoted, as well as President Barack Obama's reaction to those revelations, demonstrate that he (Obama) "has destroyed the credibility of his administration, himself, and government itself." Fine. But then, imitating the naive lover who won't give up despite constant betrayal in the hit song "I Can't Let Go," Fournier stated that he "would like to see this bill work." (HT Washington Free Beacon)
Transcript (beginning at the 0:37 mark; bolds are mine):
... BRET BAIER: Okay, Ron, overall, y'know in the wake of this Gruber situation, where is this, where does this go?
RON FOURNIER: Yeah I don't know. On one level, you can look and say, the percentage of U.S. adults with insurance has increased. The percentage without has decreased. The second cycle of enrollment is now underway, and seemingly without a glitch. There is a secretary now in charge of HHS who I have found over the years to actually be a competent manager, something we don't have a lot of in the Obama administration.
The problem is, the central attribute you have to have as, as any leader, in any walk of life and certainly in government, is trust. And this president has destroyed the credibility of his administration, himself, and government itself.
So I think in the long run, as somebody who would like to see this bill work, I think they've have really undermined it. And it’s going to be harder to defend it.
Separately, it's amazing that the only "accomplishments" HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell cited in the video's opening clip — coverage of preexisting conditions and of "children" up to age 26 — are items which were in place almost three years ago.
Getting back to what Fournier said: Ron, you need to go the last mile.
In destroying their own credibility, Obama, his administration, Gruber, and the system's other apparatchiks have destroyed the credibility of Obamacare. Its continuation can no longer be defended. That's because no one associated with the administration — and for that matter, no one in the establishment press — is willing to level with the American people concerning its failures. They have shown that they never, ever will.
On that basis alone, Obamacare must go, and be replaced with a primarily private, market-based, truly transparent system free from the congenital coverups we have seen, dating back to the Act's original drafting, for well over five years.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
